Ad*itive Creates Anti-Smoking Ads

ATLANTA The American Legacy Foundation said it is launching a new anti-smoking campaign Feb. 3 aimed at convincing African Americans to stop using tobacco products.

Ad*itive, a Philadelphia agency specializing in minority advertising, created its first independent project for the foundation.

Four ads will play in Washington, D.C., movie theaters prior to the main feature from February through June. Each ad begins with a photograph of an African-American couple in a theater and ends with the toll-free number for a program to help people stop smoking and the statistic that 45,000 African Americans die of tobacco-related disease each year.

"We're not going to scare you," one of the ads begins. "We're not trying to be 'all' in your movie," another says, before showing the telephone number and statistic.

"It is our hope that this campaign will prompt thousands of African Americans to gain greater insights on the problem of smoking in their communities and seek help through calling our Legacy Learn to Quit Line," said Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of the Washington-based American Legacy Foundation. "Ultimately, we hope the campaign will help reduce the number of tobacco-related deaths in the African American community."

The foundation estimates that more than 5 million people will see the ad during the 20 weeks it is scheduled to run.

The campaign is funded by the foundation and a coalition of six African-American organizations: the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Association of Neighborhoods, the National Conference of Black Mayors, the National Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation and the National Urban League.